About Long Beach's East Side

Listen to the great American Founding Father here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtQTEoV2jUo

Long Beach, Ca. Patrick Henry gives a masterful speech that would light and ignite, fire and explode the minds of men. Take nine minutes of your day and reflect upon his weighty words...his determination and commitment to his cause sounds out even today, over 230 years later....where are our leaders like him today?

Kirk Mulhearn, a Long Beach Real Estate Broker,manages Prudential California Realty. "The Bixby Knolls Office," he also co-manages net branch of GEM Mortgage, a direct lender specializing in the FHA, VA, and conventional financing. You may contact him at 562-989-4608 ext. 110

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Last year in January, February and March, there were 51 closed transactions--this year 37 closed transactions in the same time period. In this particular area, that coincides with today's article on Inman.com on the California market stating sales decreased in February by 28.5 percent (even though sales had increased for the 4th straight month).

Zip code 90815 (excluding Park Estates and Bixby Hill areas) closed 37 transactions since January 1 to today's date in prices ranged from $355,000 to $715,000 for a single family home (data from the Southern California MLS)--one property reflected as a short sale (this data is only recently being reflected in the MLS). The same period last year closed 51 sales ranging from $476,000 to $930,000. See more . . .

Some potential buyers are having a time, though, not realizing this "down" market is not the same as the one in the 1990's, nor has it dipped as low (not yet, anyway), because this time period is not characterized by the same issues of huge job loss (Long Beach lost about 32,000 jobs in the 90's recession) and businesses relocating out of state (some of them came back later). Finding "bargain" properties may mean still having to pay more in dollars than what is perceived as a "low" price for that short pay or foreclosed real-estate owned property, especially in some zip codes. The City of Los Angeles actually saw an increase in February 2008 in its median price compared to February 2007, while Long Beach, also a city of great housing contrasts ranging from multi-million dollar ocean-front houses to middle-class neighborhood houses and condos, and areas greatly impacted by short pays and foreclosures, saw a decline of 16% in its median price compared to one year ago.

Go to www.juliahuntsman.com for finding properties in your area. Call me for a free CMA, even if you're not planning on selling in the near future but would just like to keep tabs on your area values. 562-896-2609.